Sports

Two years, two state titles … and a pair of championships in as many weeks for Newtown High School’s wrestling team. The Nighthawks successfully defended their state championship, seven days after claiming a conference crown, easily outscoring runner-up Danbury in the February 20-21 Class LL state meet at Trumbull High School.

Held to just nine first-half points, Newtown High School’s girls’ basketball team used tenacious defense to generate explosive offense in the third quarter – riding a 21-2 run to a 48-37 win over visiting Immaculate of Danbury in the South-West Conference tournament quarterfinals on February 21. Newtown, the second seed in the bracket, survived an early scare from the seventh-seeded Mustangs. With the win, the Nighthawks earn another game on their home floor, since Newtown is the designated site for the conference semifinals. The Hawks will take on third-seeded Notre Dame-Fairfield at 5:30 pm on Tuesday, February 24.

Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team earned a big 42-40 win over Weston on Senior Night, February 20. The Nighthawks honored final-year players Charlie Huegi, Jacob Burden, Harry Depuy, Will Dalton, and Jeremy Doski, and proceeded to pick up a win that could loom large in the conference playoff picture.

The defending Class LL state champion Newtown High School wrestling team has put itself into good position to repeat with 11 of 14 grapplers getting all the way to the semifinal round at Trumbull High School on Saturday, February 21. The Nighthawks had 13 grapplers advance to the quarterfinals which took place Saturday morning. Newtown, coming off its South-West Conference title, is trying to defeat Xavier of Middletown and Danbury, among other tough Class LL schools. The championship rounds are expected to begin at about 2:30 pm, shortly after the completion of the semifinals.

The Harlem Wizards are coming back to Newtown for a comedy basketball game on Sunday, February 22. The game will be played at Newtown High School beginning at 3 pm. The Wizards will take on a team of Newtown teachers and school staff as they have done in the past. Tickets are $10 for students and $12 for adults at the door. Throughout the game, fans will experience a magical display of tricks, coordinated ball handling, fancy passing, and aerodynamic athleticism, combined with high-energy comedy and audience interaction.

Newtown High School’s girls’ basketball South-West Conference playoff game has again been rescheduled to an earlier start time; the game has been bumped to 1 pm on Saturday, February 21, due to anticipated snow. The State Open track championships, initially scheduled to begin at noon on Saturday, will now begin at 10 am. The track meet will take place at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven.

Due to anticipated snow, a scheduling change was made for the South-West Conference girls’ basketball playoffs after the sports section of The Newtown Bee went to press this week. In the two articles covering the Nighthawks on page B-1, the original game time of 7 pm is listed for the Saturday, February 21, quarterfinal contest between host Newtown High School and Immaculate of Danbury. The new start time is 3 pm.

Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team lost back-to-back games for the first time this season, falling 55-46 to visiting Masuk of Monroe on February 13, and 54-49 at Pomperaug of Southbury on February 17. The Nighthawks fell to 7-4 in South-West Conference play and, with just two regular season games remaining, find themselves clinging to the third seed in the standings. The top four squads will earn quarterfinal-round home games when the playoffs begin at 7 pm on February 27.

Newtown High School’s girls’ basketball team’s regular season came down to the final game to determine if the Nighthawks would get home court advantage in the South-West Conference Tournament quarterfinal-round game. A fierce battle between the Nighthawks and visiting Pomperaug of Southbury, on February 17, went into overtime and the Nighthawks came through with a 62-54 win. Mali Klorczyk scored 27 points to help the Nighthawks finish 11-2 in conference play and earn the SWC’s No. 2 seed. The Nighthawks will host their tourney opener, at 7 pm on Saturday, February 21 when seventh-seeded Immaculate of Danbury visits.

Newtown High School’s girls’ and boys’ indoor track teams participated in the Class LL State Championships at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven on February 16. The meet was originally scheduled for February 15 but got postponed because of snow. The Newtown girls placed 16th with seven points and the boys’ squad was 20th with one point; both lineups had several participants. Glastonbury, with 77, won the girls’ competition, and Danbury, with 71, was tops among the boys.